Jun 5 2012:
I teach guidance classes to K-8 students. When they reach 4th and 5th grade we do a whole unit on the Holocaust. I use the film Paperclips because it is appropriate for their age, and is very uplifting instead of getting mired down in the depth of the tragedy. What I tell them at the beginning of the unit is: "We, the adults in your lives, are always telling you to be kind to each other, to not call each other names, to treat differences with respect, etc. Now we are going to learn about the deep and broad reason WHY we tell you this." I use the Ladder of Prejudice from the Teaching Tolerance website, and we study the ways in which we, as individuals shape our own culture. By the time we finish the unit, they are very clear on why it is so vital to act with tolerance and in a peaceful way toward others. They have a clear understanding of what can happen if intolerance goes unchecked.
To reach youth, movies are great. Media. But the most important thing is to treat them as equals and to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS. Connections.

PLEASE, let me work with you on this, if you have the table space. I have run workshops with almost 100 middle-school students by myself before and created HUGE change. It is not easy to truly reach them in vast numbers, but totally possible if done in the right way. The youth think with their hearts. If it is emotional, they will take it in and remember it.

This talk is wonderful; it does so many things right. It shows youth the story of an eighteen-year-old girl who makes a huge difference. This talk gives us an example to look to; it shows us that the world can be changed by youth. More than that though, she emphasizes the "anonymous extraordinaries" by saying how huge movements were successful because individuals chose to do something about it. I think this is important because the ideas of creating peace or stopping war are very daunting. This talk shows that one individual doesn't have to change everything by himself or herself. It actually states the opposite. It shows how our actions can make a huge difference. It is just kinda coincidental that this talk happens to be about her actions at invisible children. These ideas about youth involvement can apply to just about everything. I think this talk could be exactly what you wanted.

I think this talk is important because it can get youth to think about why the war exists. If one person is only exposed to why a war is needed, it makes sense that they would support it. This talk can get people to question why the other side would be fighting, and one can discover the full complexity of war. When they see the complexity of war, the goal of the war becomes less clear, and the war can seem less needed. Peace becomes more sensible. I believe that this talk can get youth to get rid of some preconceived notions and evaluate new ideas like peace.

Jun 7 2012:
Thanks, Richard. I have just learned about KIVA today through AshokaU on sociale entrepreneurship. Love the way you bring it down to a scale that shows how an effortless combined action can make a huge difference.

Jun 4 2012:
I would hope for a topic of one of the Tedx talks to be about equality, acceptance, and/or tolerance. All three of those aspects should in one of the future speakers of a Tedx talk.

Maybe 'equality, acceptance, and/or tolerance' could even be an organized event that every speaker would be talking about. I certainly would love to hear about progressive thought on social issues and human rights.

I think the future youth of the world needs to love themselves, then love/accept/tolerate others in order for a better, healthier, and more united world to function.

Jun 4 2012:
As a veteran teacher, I would argue that it is all too easy for kids to imagine that great people are different from the rest of us in some way (adults do this too). What you need to do is show them examples of regular kids from different backgrounds, each doing some small thing, and then show them with cutting edge graphics what would happen if all 700 of them did that one easy thing every month or week. Make it small scale and accessible, but with exciting outcomes/impact.

Jun 6 2012:
The biggest inspiration for real, regular people is STORIES: stories about real, regular people like them who take action for all these issues. Often people hear about peace and think, "Oh, it's bad but what would i do about it, that's for the Ghandis in the world not me." These people need to be empowered to take matters into their own hands and know that huge change comes when the masses, people like them, take action. They need empowering stories and opportunities to truly get involved and take action.

Jun 4 2012:
Hi Kat, When I was a teenager, I went on a reading binge about Nazi Germany and concentration camps. It shaped me as a human being. It was by personal selection though. I also remember deciding that I would not read anymore for my own mental health. Later, learning about the Milgram experiments had a similar profound impact.

Jun 5 2012:
Hi Kat, you are so astute and you appear to care so deeply for your students (I have always admired that and wondered how it is done- I found my own 5 almost more than I could handle in their teens!).
You are right of cource, and that is why I stipulated that it was a personal choice. I cannot imagine any of my peers who would have made the same choice. However, if you complied a reading list for those who were so inclined it might be a good thing.
I do think that there are many ways to demonstrate how far humanity can go astray when it loses its way .I also think that there might be a lot of help out there for you if you wish to transmit this worthwhile message.
There already is aTED talk about Milllgram! I am pretty sure that it was done by Phil Zimbardo.I did teach my own about this study. I asked them to rely on their own conscious with the certain knowledge that I would have their back if they chose their conscience over authority figures directions. It worked darned well and they are independently thinking adults who strive to make a difference.

Jun 7 2012:
In my experience, millenials respond better to multimedia presentation, especially film. Teens always respond better to the voices of their peers than the voices of adults as they are going through the process of differentiation. Also, we as adults MUST respect the fact that the world in which are growing up is not the world in which we grew up. If we want to know how they want to be taught then all we have to do is ask them. :-)

Jun 4 2012:
I believe there is probably no one way to inspire them. There have to be several ways. One way may work for several youths; for one youth one or many ways may work. An assumption is that all the youths might not have the same interests and temperaments.

I myself a youth and i too long for a peaceful world. I even want to inspire others. For this, i want to make movies, documentaries, sing songs, write lyrics, act, write books, and even want to be a celebrity. If i become one, i would inspire my fans. In everything i do, the message of peace has to be there. Exemplification is necessary.

But whatever we do to promote peace, it has to be seen as a means and not an end in itself. Otherwise, we may become obsessed and forget our actual intent.

As I feel, it is best to get know the interests and temperaments of those youths. Real inspiration may happen hearing the sound of a clap, by seeing a dry leaf fall, by seeing a rain drop evaporate before it falls on the ground, by hearing a bird sing, by watching a comedy or a tragedy, by having seen actual war, and so on. some still might be inspired by understanding the nature of life, its vicissitudes, its impermanence, and so on.

Are there artists now who inspire in you peace? Have you ever done a brief video of your peaceful artistic expression?

Come, said the muse.
Sing me a song no poet has chanted.
Sing me the universal.
In this broad earth of ours,
Amid the measureless grossness and the slag,
Enclosed and safe within its central heart,
Nestles the seed perfection.
By every life a share or more or less
None born but it is born -- concealed
or unconcealed, the seed is waiting.
"Song of the Universal"
~ Walt Whitman

Jun 6 2012:
Dear Kat,
Thanks a lot for the poem of Walt Whitman. He inspired me during my teenage and still does. I cant forget the opening lines of his Song for Myself
"I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you."

As to the artists who inspire me to peace, they do not always sing for peace. But I have been impressed by the influence they have on people and wondered if they could do something for peace, at least to show gratitude to their fans. Michael Jackson's Heal the World was inspiring.

I do not yet have a video but I'm hoping to do so. Also, I have been trying to write a script for an animation movie that would be similar to Kung fu Panda, Rango, etc. Here is the synopsis:

A rabbit, looked after my a girl, gets lost in the jungle. But the jungle reveals an existence similar to that of the humans. The jungle world is divided between carnivores and vegetarians. There is constant war between them. On the other hand, humans come and cut down tress and destroy the forest.. Meanwhile the rabbit becomes a primary cause for escalating the conflict between the two animal worlds. There is love, comedy, and tragedy. Finally, he is compelled to unite them for the reasons that (1) both parties have lost enough, (2) humans are inhabiting the forest, and so on. The second series will reveal a protest against the humans, fight for animal rights, and so on. Humans will ultimately help them...

Jun 4 2012:
Show them war. Unedited uncensored war. Show them the realities of human warfare and the grief, poverty, and blood that follows it like a vulture. Show them the picture and the videos. It is gruesome but nothing encourages peace more than the realities of war.

Jun 4 2012:
To some extent , I would agree with Adam ..and a wonderful topic raised by Kat,
Well like all TED talks, especially the inspiring ones there was lot of data being presented . There are many leaders who preach about peace but the preaching should be made in a very fun way and that is how youth are going to learn. The youth needs to enjoy the learning process and take steps to act on it .

Jun 5 2012:
Which time? Which place? Neville Chamberlain or Gandhi. Rerewad Gandhi's autobiogrphy.
IIt's great - sone outstanding some a little out there. His disciples werenot in perfect agreement.
Jena and Nehru were great men, too. Maybe Einstein really got it. Look how he avoided the
presidency of Israel. No gambling and running around if he took the job, but I don't believe that
was the reason. In the real world we have to make tough decisions. Maybe we find peace
through war in rare accassions. How do you avoid stupid wars and folly?